FanCons.com News

2005 News

Aaron Yorgason, the chair of Con No Baka, has issued apologies to the attendees and to dealers and artists on its web site. The convention, which closed early and cancelled Sunday programming, attributes its failure to "poor luck, poor offers and poor choices".

We have received reports that Hobby Star Marketing will be honoring passes from last weekend's Con No Baka at Sunday's Toronto AnimeCon. (Hobby Star has no affiliation with Con No Baka or its organizers.)

Tsubasa-Con in Charleston, WV has had trouble with its web server and is unable to update its web site, but it is still scheduled to be held this weekend. Convention guests are singer Lisa Furukawa Ray and Anime-Cons.com webmaster Patrick Delahanty.

Anime USA has issued an announcement that 600 tickets for Friday's Move concert will now be distributed in a single session rather than three separate blocks. They will not issue tickets for the simulcast room.

Ardith Santiago of Broccoli International has announced on AnimeOnDVD.com that Anime Gamers and COSMODE magazine will be hosting a Halloween cosplay photo shoot on October 29th in Los Angeles, CA. The best costumes will be featured in an upcoming issue of COSMODE.

JT sent us a note to let us know that Anime Vegas will be airing a couple TV commercials locally in Las Vegas next month. They were produced by College University Creators in association with Anime Vegas/cartoonmogul.com.

One week ago, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the gulf coast of the United States wiping out communities, causing billions of dollars in damage, and taking lives which are still being counted. Anime-Cons.com has contacted two conventions in the afflicted area to see how their staff and their attendees are doing.

At midnight Eastern time, Otakon's pre-registration closed. They report that a limited number will be available at the door and that they are expected to sell out very quickly. Once they're sold out, they will not be able to issue more. "[We] simply cannot budge on this one," says the Otakon web site.

Although not listed as actual "guests" at Otakon 2005, Puffy AmiYumi will be in Baltimore the same weekend and will be holding a panel on Friday, August 19th at 7:30pm. Also, very few registrations remain and the availability of at-con registration seems unlikely.

This past weekend's ConnectiCon found itself in over $34,000 of debt after being presented with a bill for last minute additions to the Connecticut Convention Center staff. In response, web comics have created SaveConnectiCon.com in an attempt to raise enough money to ensure the convention will return next year.

Although mid-May 2006 dates were previously announced on Anime Central's forums, Anime-Cons.com has been informed that the 2006 convention will take place from May 5th through 7th. It will be held at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.

PortConMaine has reported that their hotel is now full. They are currently looking into overflow hotels. They have also announced that the first 500 people to arrive will recieve a free personal pan pizza from nearby Pizza Hut.

If you have a Sony PSP and have been browsing the web with it, be sure to stop by Anime-Cons.com. Anyone browsing from a PSP will be presented with a special ad-free version that has been customized to fit the screen's width.

Tampa Bay's Metrocon convention is now accepting applications from potential attendees interested in participating in the convention's "Ninjas vs. Pirates" human chess match. Applications are due by March 6th. For more details, visit the Metrocon home page.

Hawaii anime convention Kawaii Kon has been told that two additional "top guests" from Japan (unamed) would attend the convention provided it could guarantee sufficient exposure in the form of 1000 registered attendees. Kawaii Kon takes place at the Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 22-24, 2005.

TV Aichi's World Cosplay Summit 2005 site has been officially launched. The event held in Japan will draw 40 cosplayers (individuals and groups) portraying anime, manga, and game characters from seven countries including the United States, Germany, France, Spain, China, Italy, and Japan. It is scheduled for August 7.

The results came in this morning and Anime-Cons.com has been ranked as number 16 on Animefringe's annual poll of the top 25 anime web sites. We would like to thank everyone who voted for us for their support and are looking forward to providing everyone with the latest anime con info for the coming year. We wish everyone a great 2005 con season!